Breaking the Approval Addiction

When I catch myself comparing myself to others or thinking, I could be happy if only I had what they have, then I know i need to withdraw for a while and listen for another voice. Away from the winds, earthquakes, and fires of human recognition, I can again hear the still, small voice, posing the question it always asks of self-absorbed ministers: What are you doing here?

I reply by whining about some of my Ahabs and Jezebels, And the voice gently reminds me, as it has reminded thousands of Elijahs before me, that I am only a small part of a much larger movement, and at the end of the day there is only one king whose approval will matter.

The voice also whispers, Do not despise your place, your gifts, your voice, for you cannot have another’s, and it would not fulfill you if you could. – John Ortberg, Dangers, Toils, & Snares, p. 35